Press Release 20/09/2021

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). July 2021

Exports grew by 17.7% in July 2021 in the Basque Country

The cumulative total of exports of goods up to July 2021 amounted to 14,653 million, with a year-on-year increase of 22.9%

There was a rise in exports of goods from the Basque Country of 17.7% in July 2021, according to Eustat data. As a whole, exports stood at 2,186 million euros compared to 1,857 million in the same month of the previous year.

Of particular relevance was the upturn in “Metals and Manufactured” (46.0%) and in “Mineral and Energy Products” (52.7%). There was also notable growth in “Chemical Products” (52.3%) and “Plastics and Rubber” (20.9%). However, exports of “Transport Material” were down 33.9 million euros (-5.8%) in respect of July 2020.

Imports saw growth of 25.1% in July 2021, with a total of 1,675 million euros. Energy imports increased by 14.2%, and Non-energy imports were up 27.6%.

Provinces

Bizkaia registered the largest growth in exports, with 31.7%, due to the increase in “Metals and Manufactured” (40.4%), “Chemical Products” (65.6%), “Fats and Oils” (1,038.5%) and “Mineral and Energy Products” (53.5%). The increase in Gipuzkoa was 17.6% as a result of the rise in “Metals and Manufactured” (69.0%) that, with an increase of 62.8 million, this month accounted for 23.6% of the total exported from this province. The balance was also positive in Álava, given that exports increased by 4.4% due to growth of 33.3% in “Metals and Manufactured” and 29.8% in “Electrical Equipment, Machinery & Devices”, despite a slight decrease in “Transport Material” (-2.8%), down 11.7 million on the same month of the previous year.

As regards imports, it was Gipuzkoa that accounted for the highest growth (31.9%), owing to the rise in acquisitions of “Metals and Manufactured” (42.8%), “Transport Material” (240.1%) and “Paper & Manufactured” (53.1%). Growth in Bizkaia stood at 27.9%, primarily because of the increase (58.9%) in “Metals and Manufactured”; the balance was also positive in Álava: purchases of goods rose by 13.3% following the upturns in “Food Products” (91.2%), “Plastics and Rubber” (41.9%) and “Metals and Manufactured” (22.4%).

Activity Branches A86

Analysing the largest activity branches, and in relation to exports, standing out this July were the increases in exports of “Iron & Steel Products” (68.6%), “Rubber Products” (20.6%) and “Coke Plants & Oil Refining” (54.9%), as well as the decrease in exports of products relating to the “Manufacture of motor vehicles” (-6.0%). This latter activity branch (first in the ranking) fell significantly in Gipuzkoa (-23.6%), down 19.6 million on the previous year, and also decreased in Álava (-3.2%), although it rose by 0.5% in Bizkaia.

In relation to imports, it can be seen that the largest activity branch this month, “Iron & Steel Products” (11.7% of the total), saw an increase of 86.0%; however, “Extraction & Petroleum Industries”, second in the ranking, fell by 22.8%.

Largest customs duty groups

A more detailed look reveals year-on-year falls in exports of what are traditionally three of the largest customs duty groups: “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (-13.6%), “Goods Transport Vehicles” (-11.5%) and “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (-9.8%). At the other end of the scale are “Vehicle parts and accessories” (36.1%), “Refined Petroleum Oils” (84.7%), “Iron or Non-Alloy Steel Sections” (166.7%), “Aluminium sheets and strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm” and “Lifts, Escalators, Transporters, etc.”, the latter with increases of 65.2% and 169.1%, respectively.

In the case of imports, of particular note was the drop in Basque imports of “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (-27.5%) and, on the other hand, the significant increase in “Refined Petroleum Oils” (903.8%), primarily “Diesel” and, to a lesser extent “Fuel Oil”. There was also a notable rise in imports of “Flat, hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products of a width exceeding 599 mm” (169.2%), “Soya Beans, Whether or Not Broken” (110.6%), “Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel” (127.0%) and “Electric Accumulators and parts thereof” (306.4%).

Destination customers

In July, five countries (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the United States) were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, absorbing 51.1% of total Basque exports. Three of these belong to the EU27, which accounts for 62.0%.

Foreign trade in the Basque Country. Annual cumulative total

During the first seven months of 2021, exports of goods from the Basque Country grew by 22.9% (2,734 million more than the previous year), reaching 14,652.5 million euros. However, this figure is still lower than that for the same period of 2019, the year before the pandemic, when it reached 15,198 million euros.

The cumulative total of imports rose to 11,376.7 million, that is, 2,203 million more than that registered in the same period of the previous tax year, representing an increase of 24.0%.

Foreign trade in the Basque Country during the first seven months of 2021 generated a positive balance of 3,276 million euros, with a coverage rate of 128.8%.

Provinces

Bizkaia stood out during this period in terms of export activity, as, with a year-on-year increase of 28.4%, it was the leader in exports, reaching 5,818 million euros. In Álava, the rise stood at 20.4% (4,294 million euros) and in Gipuzkoa it was 18.9% (4,540 million euros).

As regards imports, Bizkaia saw an increase of 20.9% and imported goods to the value of 6,189 million euros, followed by Álava with 2,621 million and a 29.5% rise. Gipuzkoa, with a contribution of 2,567 million, came last in the import ranking.

Products

Considering the type of product, it was Non-energy Products, with a year-on-year increase of 2,707 million, which most contributed to the growth in exports, while Energy Products, up 27 million on the previous year, gave a slight boost to the aforementioned growth.

Imports of Energy products rose by 17.2% and those of Non-energy Products were up 25.7%.

Destination countries

The ranking of countries to which Basque Country exports were sent, in this period, was topped by Germany, with 16.9% of the total exported, followed by France (15.8%), the United Kingdom (6.9%), the United States (6.0%) and Belgium with 5.5%. These five countries accounted for half of Basque exports (51%). This percentage is not far below that registered for the EU27 as a whole (63.8%).

Activity Branches A86

Among the largest activity branches by export volume, of particular note was the increase in exports of “Iron and Steel products” (36.8%), exceeding that exported during the previous year by almost 431 million, reaching 1,600 million euros.

There was also considerable growth in exports of “Rubber Products” (24.5%), “General Use Machinery” (14.6%) and “Metal Products” (14.2%).

The branch with the highest volume of exports was that of products relating to the “Manufacture of motor vehicles” (3,299 million and 22.5% of the total), which at the end of July 2021 registered accumulative growth of 21.3% in respect of the same period of the previous year.

For imports, it is worth highlighting that the largest branch, “Mineral and Extraction Industries”, fell by 4.2%, while those following it in terms of import volume grew significantly, as was the case with “Iron and Steel products” (38.1%), “Manufacture of motor vehicles” (21.1%) and “General Use Machinery” (20.4%).

Largest customs duty groups

A more detailed look reveals that only 2 of the top 25 customs duty groups returned negative rates: “Refined Petroleum Oils” (-0.5%) and “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (-26.6%). In the remaining customs duty groups, the rates were positive, with the following standing out due to their significance and specific weight: “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (18.4%), “Goods Transport Vehicles” (18.6%), “New Rubber Tyres” (18.7%) and, in particular, “Vehicle parts and accessories” (39.5%).

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62